Elie Wiesel’s now-ubiquitous Holocaust memoir “Night” is taught in schools across the United States, but its mass publication and success were hardly preordained. About 10 years after the end of World War II, the Romanian-born Wiesel was making a living as a journalist in Paris when he decided to write a manuscript about surviving the Holocaust — and survival’s costs.

The ensuing text, an 862-page Yiddish-language tome titled “And the World Remained Silent,” was trimmed in length, published in Argentina, and struggled to find a wider audience. Wiesel cut the page count further and changed its focus. After numerous rejections from publishers, a small press finally accepted what the world has come to know as “Night.” Almost 10 years after Wiesel’s death at age 87 in July 2016, the book remains a mainstay of Holocaust education.

The origin story of “Night” is part of a renewed spotlight on Wiesel through a new documentary set for release on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire,” directed by veteran filmmaker Oren Rudavsky, will air on the PBS documentary series, “American Masters” on January 27, as part of “Honoring Our Stories: Jewish Culture and Remembering the Holocaust,” a recently launched initiative of The WNET Group.

“As Elie would say, suffering confers no privileges — it’s what you do with your suffering,” Rudavsky told The Times of Israel in a Zoom interview. “Elie’s lifelong attempt to give his life meaning is one way to understand him.”

Rudavsky has made numerous documentaries related to the Holocaust, including “Witness Theater,” about a program that connects high school students with Holocaust survivors to create plays about their experiences. “Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire” will air on TV following a festival run with stops at the Hamptons International Film Festival and DocAviv.

It begins with a quote from Wiesel: “Whoever listens to a witness becomes a witness.” Over the next hour and a half, it features perspectives from immediate family members, as well as scholars and some of the students Wiesel mentored as a professor at Boston University. Animated paintings are used to illuminate key moments in his life. The film incorporates numerous clips of Wiesel, from public appearances to family milestones, including some sweet moments with his wife Marion, son Elisha, and grandchildren, Elijah and Nova. The footage of Marion is bittersweet: She died almost a year ago, in February........

© The Times of Israel